Intex on Wednesday unveiled a new version of its FitRist activity tracker, called FitRist Cardio. Adding heart rate tracking to the fitness band’s capabilities, Intex has made the FitRist Cardio available to buy exclusively via Amazon India in Black colour variant, with a price of Rs. 1,499. At its price, it takes on the Xiaomi Mi Band 2, which was launched at Rs. 1,999 last year with a heart rate sensor and OLED display.

The Intex FitRist Cardio fitness band sports a 2.18cm OLED display with a 96×32 pixels resolution, and it weighs about 26 grams. The company boasts of Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity on the activity tracker, with which it connects to Android (v4.4 and above) and iOS (v7.0 and above) smartphones. It can also receive OTA updates via a connected smartphone. The FitRist Cardio bears a 80mAh battery that’s rated to deliver up to 7 days of battery life. It is water resistant, and features a heart rate sensor, sleep monitor, hydration alarm, and a step/ calorie counter.

The company adds that the FitRist Cardio can provide Facebook, WhatsApp, and SMS message notifications. On Android phones, the fitness tracker will display incoming calls with caller ID, however, on iPhone models, the band will display the call icon if the contact is stored on the phone, and will display the phone number if the contact isn’t stored. The Intex FitRist Cardio also has an ‘anti-lost’ function that will help locate the fitness band if it gets lost.

Finally, Intex is also boasting of a couple of other features on the FitRist Cardio. Users can control their smartphone’s playlist with the MP3 control feature, while a remote shutter feature lets users control the camera of their connected smartphones to remotely click pictures.

Commenting on the launch,. Nidhi Markanday, Director & Business Head, Intex Technologies, said, “Since our entry into the wearable segment in 2015, with iRist Smart watch and FitRist band, Intex has been well received by the market and to enrich our bouquet of offerings, Intex FitRist Cardio has been designed to fulfil the needs and become a one-stop solution for those who take their fitness seriously.”

HIGHLIGHTS

New products at CES 2017 dominated the news this week

Nokia 6 launch on Sunday stole CES’ thunder a little bit

Vodafone now has a Rs. 499 unlimited calling postpaid plan

Predictably, CES 2017 dominated tech news this week with a range of exciting launches and demos, but just as we were putting the finishing touches to this piece, another launch grabbed the headlines. HMD Global, the new custodians of the Nokia brand, announced the launch of Nokia 6, a phone that runs Android 7.0 out of the box.

The Nokia 6 has a 5.5-inch full-HD display wrapped in 2.5D Gorilla Glass. The smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC alongside 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The Nokia 6 is a dual SIM smartphone that is backed by a 3000mAh non-removable battery. See full specifications of the Nokia 6, which will unfortunately be a China-exclusive smartphone. HMD Global confirmed more Nokia Android phones are coming soon.

Before we get to all the CES launches from this week, let’s take a look at some important stories from closer home. Vodafone is taking the battle to Reliance Jio and Airtel with the launch of a new postpaid plan that offers unlimited calling, and 3GB of 4G data each month. The revamped Vodafone Red postpaid plans come soon after Airtel started offering 3GB of free mobile data per month to prepaid and postpaid customers switching to its 4G network.

Friday saw the launch of the Samsung Galaxy J1 (4G) in India – the same phone was launched in Russia in March last year, after quietly making its way to Dubai in January. In both those markets, it was sold as the Samsung Galaxy J1 (2016). This is an entry level phone from Samsung, priced at Rs. 6,890.

From CES, one of the highlights was the launch of the Asus ZenFone AR, the first smartphone with 8GB of RAM. It also come with support for Google’s Tango augmented reality programme and DayDream virtual reality software. Asus ZenFone AR, like the other Tango device – the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro – is designed around machine vision with a camera and sensor setup that provides motion tracking, depth perception, and area learning.

In addition to the ZenFone AR, Also also unveiled the Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom camera smartphone with 5000mAh battery at the event. The phone has dual rear cameras and offers 2.3x optical zoom.

LG also showed the LG Stylus 3. The South Korean company says that the new 2017 variants of the LG K3, K4, K8, K10 smartphones, and the Stylus 3 will strengthen its portfolio in the mid-range segment.

At its CES 2017 event, Xiaomi unveiled the latest Mi TV 4 and Mi Router HD, apart from announcing a brand new White colour variant of the Mi MIX smartphone. All the Xiaomi CES 2017 devices will be available later this year in China. Slimmer than an iPhone 7, the Mi TV 4 is the company’s thinnest TV to date.

The Xiaomi Mi MIX was unveiled as a limited edition concept smartphone, made in collaboration with French designer Philippe Stark, in October last year, and it will go on sale later this year.

Chipmaker Qualcomm finally took the wraps off its Snapdragon 835 SoC. Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 packs an Adreno 540 GPU, and is 30 percent smaller than the Snapdragon 820. The first 10nm chip by Qualcomm comes with longer battery life and will enable thinner designs.

Nvidia launched a new version of its Shield Android TV, called just Shield, at CES 2017. It comes with Google Assistant integration and supports 4K HDR. The new Nvidia Shield will cost $199 (roughly Rs. 13,200) but the company has not announced the availability of the device yet. It will be the first Android TV with Google’s Assistant, but others will follow, and it will come to other platforms over time.

There were also a lot of laptop launches at CES – Dell launched a range of products including a Latitude 2-in-1 business laptop, XPS 13 2-in-1, as well as new Alienware and Inspiron 7000 Gaming laptops. It also launched the new XPS 15 laptop, a Rose Gold variant of the XPS 13, and the XPS 27 AIO.

Asus launched the ZenBook 3 Deluxe UX490UA, and unveiled a new, slimmed-down business laptop, along with a VR-ready compact PC.

LG launched its new Gram 14 laptop, which it claims offers a battery life of around 24 hours. However, the benchmark test used by the company for this claim has turned out to be a 10-year old measurement tool. LG’s new Gram 14 laptop weighs around 980 grams, and is powered by Intel’s latest Kaby Lake processors. It comes with up to 16GB of RAM and houses up to 512GB of SSD storage.

Toshiba expanded its Portege laptop portfolio to launch a 2-in-1 offering – Portege X20W – pricing details of the 2-in-1 have not been announced yet. The Portege X20W convertible’s main highlight is touted to be its 16-hour battery life. Meanwhile, HP unveiled the refreshed EliteBook x360, a 15.6-inch Spectre x360, alongside the new Envy Curved AIO 34, the new Sprout Pro by HP, and Omen X 35 Curved Display.

Asus also showed the Chromebook Flip C302 2-in-1 convertible, a high-end Chromebook. Samsung unveiled a Chromebook with stylus support, while Acer showed off a rugged Chromebook, targeted at classrooms.

Dell also launched a range of new gaming laptops in its Alienware and Inspiron lines, and Lenovo showed its range of Legion gaming laptops, and also a new VR headset, which will work with Microsoft’s Windows Holographic Program. Samsung also showcased a new gaming laptop, the Notebook Odyssey. The most jaw-dropping of the lot though was probably Razer’s Project Valerie concept laptop, which comes with three 4K displays, for “total immersion gaming”.

As usual, CES also saw a number of wearables being launched – some of the highlights were the Misfit Vapor, the Casio WSD-F20 rugged Android Wear watch, and the Motiv fitness ring, which comes with a heart rate sensor. There were a few VR related announcements for new accessories from HTC Vive, while the other products are still works in progress.

Outside of CES, we had two more launches in India this week. We saw the launch of the Xolo Era 2X – the 2GB RAM variant has been priced at Rs. 6,666 while the 3GB RAM variant has been priced at Rs. 7,499. It replaces the Xolo Era 1X, which launched with a price tag of Rs. 4,999 last year. Other than this, we had the launch of the Sennheiser HD 200 PRO closed-backover-ear headphones in India, priced at Rs. 6,490.

Besides this, TRAI released a consultation paper on net neutrality – you have till February 15 to send in your responses to the regulator on this important issue.

Paytm also announced an interesting development this week – it’s finally received approval to launch its payments bank – the actual rollout will still take a little time, but it’s expected in the coming months. Paytm had earlier announced that it’s going to merge its Wallet and Payments Bank, so your wallet balance will automatically become your bank balance.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai visited India this week, and launched new programs to help SMBs go digital. He visited his alma mater IIT-Kharagpur, where he talked to students, and told NDTV’s Vikram Chandra in an interview Google is keen to work on UPI. He also met IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad who says Google should tailor its services to local needs.

These were the highlights of the week for us, let us know via the comments what caught your eye this week.

HMD Global, which holds the global rights to market the iconic Nokia brand, today unveiled three smartphones in the Indian market that will compete with the likes of Samsung and Apple.

The Android-based devices will be available from June 16, priced Rs 9,499 onwards.

“Nokia is a people’s brand and has had a phenomenal legacy. The brand is based on reliability and trust and that is what the new smartphones promise to deliver,” Nokia India Vice-President Ajey Mehta told reporters here.

Last month, HMD had introduced its iconic 3310 feature phone in a new avatar in India.

HMD has an exclusive 10-year brand licensing agreement with the Finnish telecom giant for mobile phones and tablets globally.

Nokia 3 and Nokia 5 smartphones will be available only in retail stores for Rs 9,499 and Rs 12,899, respectively. Nokia 3 will be available from June 16 while Nokia 5 will be up for grabs for pre-booking from July 7.

Nokia 6 — the flagship — is priced at Rs 14,999 and will go for pre-booking from July 14, exclusively on Amazon.in.

“These phones are based on three principles — real life experience, world-class design and regular Android updates that ensure we continue to deliver on the promise of quality and reliability that Nokia is known for,” said Pranav Shroff, Nokia Director Global Portfolio Strategy and Planning.

Sony is a water and dust proof headphone. It will be available in stores from June 15, 2017

Sony India has launched the new WS623 Walkman headphone with Bluetooth Wireless Technology for Rs 8,990. It will be available from 15 June 2017 at all Sony Centres and electronic stores across India.

Apart from the Bluetooth Wireless Technology, its has an option of streaming music via Near-field Communication (NFC), or through data stored in 4GB microSD card. WS623 has built in Mic to help you make or receive calls.

The company claims it has a battery life of 12-hour battery life with the device. It terms of design it looks sturdy headphone and weighs around 32grams. It has an IP65/68 certification which makes it water and dust proof. As per the release, one can swim with it underwater to a depth of two meters with up to 30 minutes of submerged time, and it can be taken to beaches and sand dunes without any worry. It has been optimised for sound levels for underwater listening and can endure extreme temperatures ranging from 5°C to 45°C.

HIGHLIGHTS

The offer will last till June 10

Flipkart has also listed No Cost EMI options for SBI card holders

There’s an exchange offer of up to Rs. 15,000 listed as well

Flipkart is offering the iPhone 6 with 16GB storage at Rs. 21,990 as part of its Father’s Day promotion, as it had teased previously. The offer starts Thursday, June 8 and lasts till June 10; Father’s Day is on June 18. Notably, the Flipkart iPhone 6 16GB offer is available only for the Space Grey model, and not the Gold and Silver ones. The price drop is accompanied by smartphone exchange offer of up to Rs. 15,000. The e-commerce company is also offering a No Cost EMI option for SBI card holders, and a 5 percent off on Axis Bank Buzz credit cards as well.

Interestingly, the iPhone SE 32GB model is also available at Rs. 21,990 on Flipkart. This variant has double the storage, was launched last year (iPhone 6 was launched in 2014), and has a faster processor than iPhone 6. On the other hand, iPhone SE sports a relatively smaller 4-inch display compared to the 4.7-inch screen of iPhone 6. It is also available with exchange discount of up to Rs. 15,000.

Another iPhone model you can consider besides the special price iPhone 6 16GB and iPhone SE 32GB is the 32GB iPhone 6 in Space Grey colour, which is available on Flipkart at Rs. 25,999 with exchange discount of up to Rs. 15,000. Notably, the listing pages for both iPhone 6 32GB and iPhone SE mention “Special Discount Ending Soon,” so these prices may not last long.

The iPhone 6 has a 4.7-inch (750×1334 pixel) screen, and is 6.9mm thick. The phone has high-speed Wi-Fi 802.11ac support and support the TD 2300 LTE band used in India. iPhone 6 has an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.2-megapixel front camera, with improved sensors when compared with the iPhone 5s. The phones feature the new Apple A8 processor and a motion co-processor labelled M8. Apple promises that both devices will provide better battery life than the iPhone 5s.

HIGHLIGHTS

Users can link their visa debit, credit or prepaid account to mVisa app

IRCTC will give Rs. 50 cashback to consumers using mVisa to book tickets

Consumers can book tickets through mVisa scan & pay on the IRCTC website

Rail travellers using IRCTC can now book train tickets by mVisa payment method that allows them to scan a QR code and pay through smartphones. Users can securely link their visa debit, credit, or prepaid account to the mVisa application on their smartphones and make their travel bookings by simply scanning their mVisa QR code on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website.

IRCTC, a subsidiary of the Indian Railways, is offering a promotion offer until September 4 that will give Rs. 50 cashback to consumers booking their tickets through mVisa scan and pay on the IRCTC website.

“The key to our success as India’s largest e-commerce organisation has been our ability to embrace new technologies that help us drive consumer engagement across our platform,” IRCTC CMD AK Manocha said on Tuesday. “Considering the phenomenal penetration of smartphones in India, moving to a mobile based payment solution such as mVisa was thus a natural choice for IRCTC,” he added.

The mVisa payment solution on IRCTC can potentially empower millions of consumers spread across Indian cities, towns and villages, to make payments using just their smartphones from the comfort of their homes.

India is currently one of the major smartphone markets in the world, with over a billion smartphones expected to be sold in the next five years. The increasing popularity and adoption of mobile devices presents a huge opportunity for the growth of mobile-based digital commerce.

Aston Martin and Hogan have teamed up on a sneaker. (Photo: AFP Relaxnews)

British luxury GT and supercar company Aston Martin is partnering with Italian footwear brand Hogan on a range of limited edition sneakers.

The ‘Aston Martin x Hogan’ sneaker will be available for order at the end of June and when it does arrive, will do so in what the companies describe as four “striking” colour ways that will be representative of the Autumn/Winter season 2017.
Formed from leather but covered in a nylon mesh for extra rigidity without restricting movement, the sneaker follows the form of Hogan’s existing Olympia design but with some notable differences. Chief among them is the addition of a kestrel tan leather tongue, cut from the same hides Aston uses to dress its vehicle interiors and featuring the same pinched seam found on its seats and door panels plus an embossed Aston Martin ‘wings’ emblem.

Although Aston has been actively looking for ways of extending its brand and of offering clients products and services that complement their lifestyle, until now, the company’s forays into fashion and accessories have been limited. It offers a range of premium leather luggage, of cashmere socks and of motor racing-inspired clothing. And, of course, like all storied automotive marques with a racing pedigree, it has an ongoing partnership with leading watchmakers who once upon a time would have manufactured the car’s gauges and dials, but who now make elegant timepieces built using the same materials and taking the same design cues as the cars themselves.

However, the marque wants to be seen as a true luxury brand and that increasingly means forging partnerships with brands perceived as its contemporaries in other areas of fashion and lifestyle.

“Collaborating with brands that share our views on quality, style and elegance are important to us,” said Marek Reichman, EVP & Chief Creative Officer at Aston Martin.

Looking beyond the automotive industry is also crucial if Aston’s designers and technicians really want to create products that chime with the super rich. It’s why for instance when Rolls-Royce’s designers visit Paris, they make a point of meeting with the likes of Hermes and Louis Vuitton to understand the latest techniques in leather work or fabric treatments. And this is clearly a way of working that Aston intends to ape. This will represent the third major partnership following agreements with Hackett and Richard Mille.

“Working with creative teams outside of the automotive industry helps to broaden our designers’ minds,” said Reichman. “We take inspiration from all walks of life and our work with Hogan will help to shape and inspire many aspects of our future creations.”

The ‘Aston Martin x Hogan’ sneaker will be limited to 3000 pairs.On Hogan’s website, the shoes are listed for € 375 which, at the time of publishing this article, converted into over Rs 27,000.

HIGHLIGHTS

It has about 7,000 techies to design & power semiconductor chips in India

World’s leading chip maker Intel Corporation is investing Rs. 1,100 crores ($170 million) in India to set up a new Research and Development (R&D) centre in this tech hub, said an official on Wednesday.

“We are investing Rs. 1,100 crores in our upcoming R&D centre in Bengaluru as part of our India expansion plans,” said Intel India General Manager Nivruti Rai at a news conference on the US-based multinational’s investment and expansion plans in the sub-continent.

The new R&D facility in an eight-acre campus is expected to generate about 3,000 jobs over the next 18 months. It will also have a computer software development and hardware design services facility.

The fresh investment is in addition to $2 billion (roughly Rs. 12,852 crores) the chip maker had invested in the country till 2016.

The company’s Indian subsidiary has about 7,000 techies to design and power semiconductor chips for its global customers, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of computers, smart phones and other electronic devices.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and IT Minister Priyank Kharge were also present on the occasion.

The state high-level clearance committee, headed by the Chief Minister, cleared the company’s investment proposal on February 1, 2016 and the Karnataka Industrial Development Board allocated it the land in the city’s south-east suburb.

The company’s India operations focus on R&D, hardware design, testing and validation of computer hardware and software products for the next-generation digital devices.

The Intel India arm is registered with the state-run Software Technology Park India (STPI) under the 100 percent export oriented unit scheme of the government.

HIGHLIGHTS

The headset is already out-of-stock on the website

Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth Headset supports Bluetooth 4.1

Only Black colour variant is available in India

While Xiaomi’s Redmi 4 India launch is just around the corner, the company has now made its Mi Bluetooth Headset available for pre-orders in the country at Rs. 899. The new headset from Xiaomi weighs just 6.5 grams and has been made available in only Black colour for the country. The headset will be shipped within 5 days of pre-order as per company’s website. Notably, the product seems to have gone out of stock already but might be made available again by the company soon.

Xiaomi’s Mi Bluetooth Headset allows users to accept or end phone calls, reject calls, redial phone numbers, transfer calls, make three-way calls, play or pause music, play next/previous song, and adjust volume. The headset comes with a ceramic antenna, rounded sound cavity, a Bluetooth chip, magnetised moving coil speaker, and a noise-cancelling silicone microphone. “To optimise sound quality for calls and music, we kept the speaker output structure at a narrow 3mm, so that detail in the mid and high frequencies are preserved and noise is significantly reduced,” the Xiaomi says on its website.

The Mi Bluetooth Headset offers noise reduction and supports Bluetooth 4.1, which as per the company’s claims, reduces 4G network interferences and in turn improves device compatibility, stability, and functionality across the board. Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth headset provides 3-4 hours of battery life with regular usage and 100 hours in standby mode, as per the company. Notably, the headset is capable of pairing with two devices simultaneously.

The new Bluetooth headset from Xiaomi comes with silicone earbuds in three different sizes. Let us know in comment section down below if you are interested in buying Xiaomi Mi Bluetooth Headset or have your eyes set on some other headset

HIGHLIGHTS

Daydream View VR headset available for Rs. 6,499

Apps include YouTube VR, Street View, Play Movies and more

Daydream supported phones include Google Pixel, Pixel XL, and Moto Z

The headset is being offered on Flipkart with 5 percent off for Axis Bank Buzz Credit Cards and Rs. 300 cash back on payment through PhonePe. EMI options are also available and each pair of headset comes with 1 year of warranty. First 30 customers to buy Google Daydream View VR via Flipkart will also receive Google Chromecast for free, while the first 50 customers will receive a Google Play Store Credit worth Rs. 500.

The Daydream View VR headset functions along the lines of Samsung’s Gear VR and you will need Daydream-supported smartphones for the headset to work. As of now, the list of phones that support Daydream is small with the likes of Google Pixel, Pixel XL, and Moto Z, to name a few and will also come to Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ soon. So, for those considering to buy the headset in India may want to check they have a Daydream-ready smartphone first.

The Daydream View VR headset is made up of a lightweight fabric for a comfortable feel. The controller lets you interact with the virtual world, letting you take various actions with help of motion and gesture sensors and physical buttons. The Daydream app that houses a collection of apps and games for Daydream-ready phones. The YouTube VR app will let you watch 3D or standard 360-degree videos with the Daydream View headset. The Street View app lets you tour over 150 popular real-world places, while Play Movies offers some VR-ready movies. Third-party developers too provide Daydream-ready content via their apps.

“Daydream View promises users a mesmerising experience. Swim with a pod of dolphins, stand at the edge of a volcano and even visit Pluto with Daydream View. Users can teleport from virtually anywhere to pretty much everywhere. Our aim is to make the VR experience mobile so that customers can easily carry it anywhere with them. We at Google are also working with developers, smartphone companies, and content creators to make VR accessible to all,” said Clay Bavor, Vice President of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality at Google.